Zarif Heads Economic Delegation to Europe

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, will travel to Poland on Sunday, June 9, as part of his first periodic trip to Europe following the implementation of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). This trip will last for a week, during which Zarif will also visit Finland, Sweden, and Latvia. Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran's Ambassador to Warsaw, stated in an interview with Fars News Agency that one of the goals of this trip is to sign a memorandum of understanding for political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries. According to him, a 60-member economic team will accompany Zarif on this trip. Radek Sikorski, the Polish Foreign Minister, visited Tehran on February 28, 2014, following the Geneva agreement (Joint Action Plan), but his visit was cut short due to the Ukraine crisis, preventing him from meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Zarif hosted the foreign ministers of Poland, Sweden, Latvia, and Finland in Tehran in 2013 and 2014. According to Iranian customs reports, Iran exported $19.5 million worth of non-oil goods to Poland last year and imported $29.4 million from this country. In 2014, Iran's non-oil exports to Poland were $20.6 million, while imports were $22.6 million. The main exports from Iran to Poland include fruits, various dried fruits (mainly pistachios and raisins), dates, plastics and its products, iron and steel, carpets and flooring, tea, food products, marble, ceramics, and alloy steel. The main imports from Poland to Iran include various machinery and equipment, electrical and electronic equipment, glass and crystal, furniture, hygiene and cosmetic products, auto parts, and agricultural tools. The CEO of the Polish state-owned natural gas distributor (PGNiG) stated last December that the company is looking for various options for oil and gas exploration and production in Iran as soon as sanctions are lifted. Mariusz Zawisza, the CEO of this company, noted in an interview with Reuters that they are interested in the Iranian market and are exploring various business options in the country. According to statistics from the Trade Promotion Organization, Iran exported a total of $1.59 billion worth of non-oil goods to the European Union last year, reflecting a 6% increase compared to 2014. Iran's imports from the EU were $6.229 billion, which is an 18% decrease compared to 2014. Total non-oil exports from Iran (including gas condensates) last year were approximately $42.5 billion, while imports were $41.5 billion. In other words, the weight of the 28 EU member states in Iran's foreign trade is not very high, but the lifting of Western sanctions against Iran in January this year has somewhat created an environment for improving trade relations.